Being a short person myself I have never given much thought to the challenges of being tall. This past holiday season my two teenage granddaughters, Julia May and Erin Kathryn, came to visit — both of whom are several inches taller than I am — and I began to see things in a different light.
I always envied people who are tall. Tallness appears to be an indication of good health. And whether it is or not, it seems I’m not the only person who thinks that way.
When you’re tall, as my granddaughters pointed out, everyone assumes you play basketball.
“Whoa, you’re tall,” people say on first meeting a tall person. “What basketball team do you play on?”
Basketball is a sideline for my girls. Soccer and flag football are the sports they’re into.
Another advantage/disadvantage, depending on how you want to look at it, of being tall is that you can reach stuff on the top shelves. As a short person I always have to get my step stool out whenever I want to grab a cup or dish that is located higher than I can reach. It was nice to be able to ask Julia May or Erin Kathryn to get it for me and they didn’t even have to stand on their tippy toes.
On the other hand, whenever they go shopping with their mom, short women who are in the store at the same time don’t mind asking these tall girls to reach merchandise that is stacked beyond their range. Perfect strangers assume that’s what God put tall people on earth for — to help out short people.
Fortunately, the girls are good sports about it — but what would you expect from a basketball player?
Tall and short people, however, are not always compatible. While they were here Julia May, who is learning to drive, took my car out for a spin on the prairie. She also ran a few errands for me to the grocery store, where she was approached by several perfect strangers who asked her to reach stuff for them on the top shelves.
After they went back home to Southern California I got into my car and suddenly felt as though I’d stepped off a cliff. The seat was pushed way back, the mirrors were messed up where I couldn’t see out of them, the heat was on full blast and the radio was tuned to some country music station I never listen to. It took me a full 10 minutes to get everything back the way I wanted it.
It was a minor inconvenience compared to the joy of having my granddaughters around for the holidays. Car seats can be readjusted. Reaching stuff stacked on upper shelves, however, is still a problem.
Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.
